Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has unveiled what it calls the “twin daggers of revenge” — two specialised anti‑ship missiles it claims were used to strike a US warship in retaliation for the torpedo sinking of the frigate IRIS Dena near Sri Lanka.

In a choreographed TV address, commanders said a sea‑skimming cruise missile dubbed “Nasr‑2R” and an upgraded anti‑ship ballistic missile known as “Khalij Fars‑M” were fired from hidden coastal launchers overlooking the Arabian Sea. The Nasr‑2R reportedly flew just metres above the waves to saturate the ship’s Aegis radar, while the Khalij Fars‑M climbed high, then plunged almost vertically in its terminal phase, using an AI‑guided seeker to lock onto the vessel’s heat signature.

Grainy footage showed a bright streak diving towards a silhouette at sea, followed by a flash and rising smoke. Iranian media insist both missiles “successfully impacted” the US destroyer, igniting fires on the flight deck and forcing helicopters and drones to divert.

The Pentagon flatly denies that version, confirming only that “multiple Iranian projectiles” were intercepted, with one fragment causing a “minor topside fire” quickly extinguished, and no serious injuries. Independent analysts say neither side has yet produced verifiable imagery of a crippled US ship — but agree the technical details Iran revealed suggest a worrying leap in its anti‑ship capabilities.

For Tehran’s hardliners, the message is clear: the Dena’s loss has been answered in kind. For navies patrolling from Hormuz to Sri Lanka, the revelation of two “special” missiles built to hunt big ships is a stark warning that the next exchange at sea may be faster, deadlier — and far harder to stop.